Modern Middle East

School:

College of Arts & Sciences

CLAS Course:

History

Course #:

HIME2002

Section:

1

Instructor:

Fahad Bishara

Credits:

3

Days of the Week:

MTWRF

As a continuation of HIME 201 (which is not a prerequisite), this course surveys the historical evolution of the Middle East and North Africa, i.e., the region stretching from Morocco to Afghanistan, and from the Balkans and Anatolia to the Arabian Peninsula. Topics include the main political configurations of the area from the birth of Islam until the Mongol aftermath; the rise of the ‘gunpowder Empires’ of the 16th century; the Ottoman and Safavid (Iran) states; and the modern nation-state systems of the present century, ca. 1980. The dominant political, religious, economic, social, and cultural features of Middle Eastern peoples and societies are examined, as are relationships between the region and other parts of Eurasia, particularly Western Europe.